


Beans of Doubt

by fxvixen



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Cat Andrew, Dog Matt, Familiars, Gen, Witches, witch dan, witch neil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 20:49:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17029776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fxvixen/pseuds/fxvixen
Summary: Neil spits cat hair out of this mouth for the third time in five minutes, and shoves the tail off his papers. “I swear to god Andrew if you flick your tail in my face one more time, I’m not giving you any milk this week.”Andrew stares back with his brown eyes and flicks his tail across the papers to scatter them instead.





	Beans of Doubt

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ephemeralsky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephemeralsky/gifts).



> This was my piece for the [AFTG Exchange](http://aftgexchange.tumblr.com/) for [nakasomethingkun](http://nakasomethingkun.tumblr.com/) on tumblr!!
> 
> These are the properties I’m going with for the things used in this fic:  
> Almond - stupidity/confusion; Artichoke - protection/safety; Black - secrets/chaos; Feather (black swan) - hidden secrets/change; Green - greed/luck/prosperity: Orange (color) - intellect/travel; Walnut - protection/intellect; White (color) - truth/unity
> 
> if you have any questions about them feel free to ask. Otherwise I decided not to make actual pairings in this because my image of this universe was that they couldn't shape-shift, but you can read it like they can if you're so inclined
> 
> thanks to my beta rockin-llama on tumblr, love her <3 she rushed through editing so i could post tonight

Neil spits cat hair out of this mouth for the third time in five minutes, and shoves the tail off his papers. “I swear to god Andrew if you flick your tail in my face one more time, I’m not giving you any milk this week.”

Andrew stares back with his brown eyes and flicks his tail across the papers to scatter them instead.

“Andrew,” Neil groans. He drops his head and scrubs his hands through his hair.

There’s another shuffle of papers and Neil whips his head up but Andrew is only sitting up to assess Neil more closely. He stares unblinking and Neil wills him to feel how close he is to the end of his rope.

With an annoyed ear twitch, Andrew walks the two steps to the edge of the desk and butts his cheek against Neil’s, dragging the rest of his small body past as well. His tail flicks against Neil’s nose one more time as he drops down to the ground, then he ambles across the room and hops up onto Neil’s bed to curl up in the middle of his pillow.

Neil pulls more long white hairs off his face, but doesn’t scold the cat. “Thank you, this really should have been done last week.”

The wave of indifference weaved through with the barest hint of irritation in Neil’s mind is familiar.

“Well, thank you anyway.”

Neil dives back into his essay on the effectiveness of mixing common beans with green peas, what sort of Magickal properties a Trinket made from them might have, and what situations it might be useful to have them in. Honestly he feels like he’s spewing out exactly what his instructor had said in class but that’s the assignment so here he is.

He gets caught up in referencing from the dusty old book he’d borrowed from his classmate–who _had_ finished the essay last week–and slowly he feels the time pass as more words are put on the page.

At some point he drifts off because he wakes up to two paws pressing on his thigh–Andrew stretching up to get his attention. His tail waves back and forth and Neil can feel his irritation and deliberate thoughts of _bed_.

Neil blinks at him and looks to his papers. “I can’t, I have to finish this tonight. I already asked to have an extension, and they definitely won’t give me another one.”

Andrew’s irritation spikes and flexes his paws to claw at Neil’s thigh, tiny pinpricks that itch more than hurt. A new image is drawn up in Neil’s mind, this time an image of himself looking bedraggled, pale, and exhausted that is quickly followed by an image of a big red F.

Neil scrubs his face and groans.

Andrew kneads his thigh again without claws, pushing against him firmly.

“Okay,” Neil sighs. He leaves his essay notes strewn haphazardly and crawls into bed. Neil reaches to the back of his neck to carefully undo his Trinket and lays it on the nightstand. Andrew bats at the feather hanging off the edge half-heartedly just to be annoying so Neil tucks it up out of immediate reach. The depths of sleep are already tugging at Neil as he hunkers down beneath his blankets and he barely feels Andrew jump up to curl behind his knees.

Sleep is welcomed.

* * *

 

Neil finishes the essay the next morning when he’d usually be on his run. It’s necessary, but leaves him feeling antsy the whole morning. Andrew slants him a pointed glance as he cuts away to duck through the bushes skirting the main gardens instead of following Neil to class, a clear sign that he’s not going to deal with Neil today. The picture Andrew shows him, one of a white cat with its back arched and fur sticking straight up, drives the point home.

Neil sighs but doesn’t object. The distraction of having his familiar in class with him would have been nice but he knows that Andrew will just get pissed off if Neil spends the whole class twitching and sending a buzz across their link.

Class is… boring, a review. Review is tedious when it feels like everything you learn becomes a part of you, when the things you’re being taught slot right in with what you already know, settle in among knowledge gained from years of working with the subject.

Neil doesn’t realize that his desk is squeaking from his fidgeting until his classmate points it out. That explains the couple of dirty looks he’s been getting.

The professor at least hasn’t seemed to notice. Neil tunes in to him saying, “You’ve all heard the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk. It’s yet another tale of how the color green is associated with luck and prosperity: Jack uses the beans and finds himself with the golden goose and more than he could ever have hoped for. It’s a story meant to inspire children to want to use their Magick.” A few people nod. “The less talked about part of the story is the continuation, where Jack uses more beans to try to recreate the success of the first time, and lures in the rabbits which lead to fox to appear and kill the golden goose. This story probably most accurately shows the relationship between the luck and greed associated with the color green.”

When Andrew is here at least Neil has something to do when the professor is explaining the same concept for the fifth time, but without him, Neil feels like he’s about to run right out of his own flesh. Neil notices the squeak this time before his classmate can say anything.

It’s moments like these where Neil regrets taking a class called “Magickal Uses for Common Garden Plants.” At registration, all he’d been thinking was that garden plants were probably some of the easiest to come by, and it’d be useful to know what they could do. Now, he’s painfully aware that if he’d really wanted to know, he could have just looked it up.

Unlike most witches, Neil had not been spared the continuation to the Jack and the Beanstalk tale as a child, and so had developed a healthy… some might say _fear_ of the color green in any Magickal context. In fact, that he knew of, he’d never used anything that was associated with luck, as there was no way he would knowingly leave anything in his life up to chance. Neil prefers the assurance of a more defined Magickal substance.

The Trinket Neil wears every day around his neck is made of substances solidly defined– walnuts, artichokes, and a single black swan feather framed at the front. The most trivial part is the string that holds it all together, a piece of orange yarn from a roll kept in the bottom of his dresser. It’s obviously meant to protect–the walnut and artichoke–his secrets–the swan feather–from anyone that Neil wouldn’t want finding out about them. The string specifies while he’s traveling or maybe to be smart about who he tells them to, now that he’s not moving around so much anymore.

Neil has his books packed up five minutes early so the moment the professor is done, he’s out the door. He heads toward the garden to see if Andrew wants to join him for lunch.

The buildings on the campus of The Public Academy for Magick at Palmetto are arranged around a large central garden that’s made of mostly open space. There’s an actual garden at one end but it’s reserved for students who are taking 400 level practical Magick classes that need rarer plants.

Andrew isn’t immediately visible when Neil enters the garden, but it’s not surprising. First because the garden is close to 300 yards from one end to the other and 60 or so wide with all kinds of trees and bushes scattered across, and second, because Andrew tends to not want to be found.

Neil sends a vague questioning feeling across their bond and a picture of Andrew’s eyes.

A moment later Neil gets a picture of an almond.

Neil huffs but he can’t help his smile. He walks further into the garden and finds his regular little alcove. It’s a small area almost surrounded by hedges and with two trees framing a little bench at the back.

Knowing Andrew will find him here if he wants, Neil throws his bag on the bench and settles down in the middle of the small area. The Magick here recognizes him and springs up from the ground to meet his hands where he holds them out. It’s not strong, this kind of dormant Magick never is, but it’s familiar and willing to be manipulated. Neil lets it move around him and through him and gradually his nerves ease.

Just as he feels the Magick smooth down his own metaphorical ruffled fur, Andrew pads around the corner of the hedge. He comes close enough to Neil to catch the edge of the Magick floating around and Neil feel his consciousness brush up against it.

Neil sends Andrew a ripple of affection, expecting the irritated tail swish in response. Taking one more deep breath of the Magick, Neil lets it sink back into the dirt and the plants. Letting go leaves him chilled with the loss of the Magick’s natural heat.

Andrew moves to sit just in front of Neil’s legs and tilts his chin up. Accepting the offer, Neil leans down and bumps noses with him. Andrew drags his face up and down Neil’s nose and chin and Neil feels the bright heat of Andrew’s Magick wherever they touch. Neil reaches out and brushes it with his own and is delighted when Andrew lets him in.

Andrew nose is cold against his face for another moment, but then Neil feels the soft fur on his forehead rest against his own. Andrew never seems as close to him as when they sit like this, thoughts mere inches from each other. When they share Magick like this, Neil wonders if maybe Andrew thinks about curling up in his mind, just as much as he thinks about it himself.

Boiled down to his Magick, Andrew is an essence that Neil can feel, always skirting the edges of his mind. He’s bright, almost startlingly so, to the point that there’s no way to ignore his presence. Neil likes it.

They sit together like that for several minutes before Andrew pulls away with a quiet _merf._

Neil smiles as he feels their Magicks sink back into their respective skin and fur. He can still feel Andrew’s thoughts, bright and bold.

Yes, Andrew’s essence glows bright, but it’s nowhere near as sharp as he likes to give off. In long moments spent linked before channeling Magick into a larger Trinket, Neil’s slipped below the bright exterior to something no less warm, but softer. It’s like curling up in your favorite blanket, like his hand in Andrew’s fur or the softness of his whiskers on Neil’s cheek.

Neil puts his hand out to broadcast his intentions and Andrew walks into it, letting Neil stroke once down his back.

Just as he’s contemplating seeing if Andrew will let him scratch his belly, there’s the sound of quick running and huffing from outside the ring of hedges. Andrew slips behind Neil and hops up onto the bench as Matt comes barreling around the corner.

There are a few German Shepherd familiars that Neil’s seen around campus, but Dan’s familiar is the only one with completely black fur. Neil is now only able to see that color as a blur before Matt completely bowls him over and starts licking his face emphatically.

Neil tries to fend Matt off even as he laughs, but it’s hard because Matt’s leaned over him and weighs like 80 pounds. “Get off me, already,” he moans.

Matt barks at him happily, but does move enough for Neil to stand up. The moment Neil is standing he leans into him and pushes at his legs for more pets and attention. Neil gives it to him, but as much as Neil loves the kick of Matt’s Magick that lingers now just out of his reach, he’s glad that his familiar isn’t… so much.

The image Andrew sends him of a shower speaks for itself.

“Neil!” Dan says, and Matt barks several times in response to his witch entering the clearing. “How was today?”

“It was fine,” Neil says. He scratches along Matt’s back when he leans again his leg.

Dan grins. “Alright, so it was boring.” She plants her hands on her hips and her feet in the ground, and it’s familiar enough that Neil knows she’s not going anywhere until he starts talking.

Neil can’t help the little smile in return, but he doesn’t try to hide it. He turns to where Andrew’s still sitting on the bench and sends a quick image of himself holding Andrew with a questioning feeling. When Andrew send the same image back, but more firmly, Neil gently picks him up and sits on the bench in his spot. Dan sits next to him, and Matt, after a quick but gentle nose at Andrew, sets his head in her lap.

One of the unique features of Palmetto is its mentor program. At the beginning of the first year at Palmetto, students meet with candidates who might be assigned their mentor, someone from an older grade who will help them study and get the hang of how everything runs for the duration of their first year.

Neil hadn’t really cared who his mentor was because a lot of upperclassmen didn’t take the job seriously and he wasn’t planning on getting attached. But when his first candidate had been a bubbly girl who’d gone on and on about the incredible relationship she’d had with her own mentor, Neil was quick to say he wasn’t satisfied with her. The fact that Andrew had pretended to try to eat her hamster familiar only solidified the fact.

When Dan had met him and immediately started talking about exactly what he needed to know for his first day of classes and things she knew about his professors, he knew she’d be an invaluable source of information and told administration she’d be a good fit. Dan apparently hadn’t had a problem with Andrew taking a chunk out of Matt’s nose because she’d accepted his request.

And he’d been right, Dan’s expertise had helped him time and time again, from homework to intrapersonal things to how to understand his own Magick better. She’d also become what he might be willing to call a good friend.

Dan nudges his shoulder. “Spill.”

Neil shrugs. “The material isn’t interesting.”

Dan rubs against Matt’s face absently as she replies, “It’s school, it’s not always gonna be exciting.” When he doesn’t respond, she asks, “What was today about?”

“How green things like beans can create luck but if it turns into greed it can be harmful.” Neil shrugs again, although he can feel that Andrew’s interest has piqued from where he’s curled up on his lap. “I don’t plan on ever using it for that though because I don’t want to run the risk. I’d rather do something more certain than rely on luck.”

Andrew sends him an image of a mouse with an ear twitch. Neil huffs back at him.

Dan frowns, deep enough in her thoughts to miss the exchange. “Well I guess, but I’ve always took the Jack and Beanstalk story to mean you shouldn’t try to get lucky more than once with the same thing. Like, I think green can be fun too. Especially if you use it on little things like your next test or assignment, or if you don’t want it to rain on a particular day. Things with that low of stakes don’t always change a lot, but there also aren’t big consequences to them either.”

Neil scratches under Andrew’s chin, and thinks about that. “I guess.”

Dan laughs at his lackluster response and Matt barks back at her. “You’re always so serious about Magick. It doesn’t have to be some huge serious thing every time you use it. Sometimes you can just do it just to see what happens.”

Neil nods his head noncommittally, and Dan laughs again.

She stands up. “Well I just wanted to check in on you. I hadn’t seen you for a couple of days and I wanted to make sure you hadn’t sunk into your own world.”

“I had a paper that I was working on,” Neil says, immediately feeling guilty.

With a soft smile Dan says, “That explains the bags under your eyes.” As she heads out of the clearing she calls back, “Get some sleep tonight, Neil.”

Matt swipes a drooling lick across Neil’s wrist before he follows her out.

Andrew steps out of his lap the moment they’re gone and sits on the bench next to him.

Neil looks at him for a moment, but when he doesn’t get anything back he sighs and says, “Let’s head back.”

Seeing as Neil only has the one class today, it means that he has the rest of the afternoon to agonize over what Dan has said. He takes Magick too seriously.

Objectively, he knows that. He knows that he’s not the kind of person to frivolously use his Magick on everything that comes to mind. He’s too used to the mentality of needing it in an emergency to do that.

But Dan’s probably right that he could stand to use it a little more liberally. If anything, it would test certain aspects of his Magick that he’s never ventured to try before, which could be interesting. It might even be fun to see if he can replicate things he’s seen other students do.

The only problem is how and where to start.

Neil stuffs his face into his pillow.

Andrew sends him his favorite image, the one of the almond.

Neil turns his head enough to glare at him with one eye.

Andrew stares blankly back from on top of Neil’s stack of textbooks.

Neil blinks. _Might as well._

He scours through his papers until he finds the syllabus showing his next test. Neil stares at the date as he fishes out a bean leftover from an assignment earlier in the semester. It’s still green and preserved so he crushes it up as best he can with his small pestle; he adds a few drops of water to make it a small paste. When it’s as good as it’s going to get, Neil warily smears it onto the paper overtop the date of the test and channels a small amount of Magick through his fingers.

The second he’s done Neil knows he’s never going to try luck Magick again. It makes him feel queasy and shaky all down his arm, and he already feels nervous about the outcome. He doesn’t think he really used enough to make a difference, but it still makes him feel lightheaded.

Neil takes a deep breath and leans back in his chair. _This is fine._ The consequences of that small use of Magick have to be miniscule, but Neil’s anxiety has skyrocketed from it.

He takes another breath and goes back to his thoughts earlier. This is just one new avenue of his Magick that he’s tried out. Now that he’s done it, he knows it’s not for him and he can try something else. _This is fine._

Andrew migrates over to sit on Neil’s desk just in front of him and sends Neil the image of him on Neil’s shoulders. Neil sits up so Andrew can step on his shoulder and tilts his head down enough that his familiar can lay across his shoulders and against the back of his neck. The warm weight of Andrew’s body grounds him, and he closes his eyes.

Neil turns his cheek into Andrew and nuzzles against his face and at the edge of his Magick. This time it’s Andrew’s Magick that reaches out to connect to his and Neil lets him in gratefully. The bright, bright Magick seeps in his shoulders and down the arm that feels shaky, steadying him. Andrew lets out a soft purr for a couple of seconds and Neil smiles.

Andrew flicks his tail against the front of Neil’s face but he can’t hide the soft affection hidden in his Magick.

After several minutes, Andrew pulls away and Neil bends forward again to let him down. He opens his eyes to see Andrew curling up on his bed instead. Neil grins at him and he knows Andrew can tell from his ear twitch, but he doesn’t send Neil anything to get him to stop.

Neil turns back to his books and contemplates what other types of magic he could try.

**Author's Note:**

> I almost called this "Bean There, Done That" but decided not to at the last moment lol
> 
> some might point out the irony of the fact that Neil’s familiar has white fur when Neil’s personality is so black. alternatively, Matt’s fur is black because he can be so hyper that it becomes chaotic, and also, you know, because Matt is black. 
> 
> I hope you liked it!! please leave a comment down below =))


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